News Releases and Statements

ICE's HSI seized an additional $500,000 worth of counterfeit goods Friday from a shipment destined for a Baton Rouge store where HSI seized $1 million of counterfeit goods the day before.

HSI seized 3,082 counterfeit items worth more than $1 million from a Baton Rouge business Thursday. The seized items included counterfeit designer clothing and electronics.

Eric Huggins admitted that from February 2009 through January 2011, he intentionally trafficked in clothing, handbags, sunglasses, and other merchandise that contained counterfeit trademarks.

Vitality Yaremkiv, of Vancouver, Wash., sold more than 900 illegally imported counterfeit air bags between June 2011 and June 2012, earning nearly $140,000.

An Argentine man, Felix Gabriel Alderete, has been sentenced for trafficking in prescription drugs, including Lorazepam, Diazepam, Alprazolam, Ketamine, and Sibutramine, following a probe by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Hundreds of items of counterfeit San Francisco Giants clothing seized by the Department of Homeland Security during last year's World Series are being donated to World Vision International, a non-profit organization that provides aid to the needy around the globe.

More than $90,000 was also seized from PayPal accounts associated with the seized websites.

The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and the National Association of Theatre Owners announced the planned release of a new trailer Friday aimed at educating the public about the laws against movie piracy.

World IP Day was started by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and is celebrated April 26 every year in order to promote discussion of the role of intellectual property in encouraging innovation and creativity.

Anyone who visits a website seized by the government for counterfeiting violations will now be met with a public service announcement (PSA) that educates them about the impact that such crime has on global economics and its links to organized crime.

Michael Little was arrested Thursday on charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods for allegedly advertising and selling via Internet postings artwork attributed to renowned artist Dale Chihuly.

Two men from China, who were found with more than 14,000 fake luxury items, both pleaded guilty to producing counterfeit goods, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office has filed felony charges against three local vendors identified during Operation Fashion Faux Pas, a crackdown by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on Orange County retailers suspected of dealing in counterfeit designer goods.

In addition to his prison term, Ferrer was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.

During the operation, HSI special agents and partner law enforcement officers targeted five retailers of counterfeit and pirated goods.

Seven local residents pleaded guilty Thursday to intellectual property rights violations, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

Edward Alarcon, 44, was sentenced Thursday morning by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu, who also ordered the defendant to pay $1,000 restitution to Eli Lilly and Company, the manufacturer of Cialis, and $1,000 to Purdue Pharma L.P., the manufacturer of OxyContin.

A 25-year-old man who allegedly sold counterfeit vehicle air bags on the Internet was arrested Tuesday after being indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of trafficking counterfeit goods.

Pair arrested overnight after search of Orange County home

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Lakeland Police Department and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), seized 7,846 pirated DVDs and nearly $170,000 in Lakeland Thursday as part of a global counterfeit motion picture DVD investigation that extended to the People's Republic of China.

Mark Jeffrey Glover and his company, Discount Computers Inc. (DCI), were sentenced today for trafficking in counterfeit goods and services and violating environmental laws. The sentence is the result of an extensive investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)...

Following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Dr. Wronald Best, the chief scientist of a government contractor working on components for use in military helicopters and the presidential helicopter fleet, was sentenced Monday for conspiring to obtain pirated software from Chinese and Russian cyber criminals.

Jehad Shalabi, 44, of Blue Springs, Mo., is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit trademark goods.

Nathan Welter made his initial appearance in federal court Friday afternoon following his indictment for allegedly using Craigslist to sell a variety of counterfeit sexual dysfunction medications, which he claimed to buyers were genuine.